Many refrigerators, particularly those using a side-by-side configuration wherein a fresh food compartment is located to one side of a frozen food compartment, include integrated water and/or ice dispensing systems. Such systems typically deliver water and/or ice through a door of the frozen food compartment to a dispensing station recessed in the door. In some refrigerators, only a water dispensing system may be provided, while in other refrigerators, only an ice dispensing system may be provided. The present disclosure will refer to all such systems (whether dispensing water, ice, or both) as “water dispensing systems.”
Water dispensing systems often incorporate a filtration system that utilizes a replaceable water filter to improve the quality of the water and/or ice dispensed to a user. As the water filters used in such systems each have a limited operational life, the water filter must be periodically replaced. Water dispensing systems often include various mechanisms for determining when replacement of a water filter is needed and for notifying a user of this need.